Corporate Taxes

News about Corporate Taxes, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jul. 17, 2015

House approves, 312 to 119, $8 billion, five-month funding patch for federal highway trust fund; congressional approval comes with promise to pass, and have Pres Obama sign, overhaul of international business tax code that will provide funding for a long-term transportation bill. MORE

Jul. 9, 2015

Sen Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio, and Sen Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, jointly propose that government substantially cut tax rate on United States corporate profits overseas; plan also calls for one-time mandatory transition tax that will fund highway and infrastructure program. MORE

Jun. 25, 2015

Greece is broke, and its government is looking to raise taxes on businesses to generate revenue; latest proposal to creditors is drawing initial support from European officials, but some pushback from companies is occurring; nation faces crucial debt payment. MORE

May. 25, 2015

Amazon announces broad changes to its European operations, saying it will begin paying local taxes in nations where it has large operations, rather than funneling sales through tax haven of Luxembourg; change follows growing pressure from European policy makers who want American tech companies to pay more on their operations in the European Union. MORE

May. 24, 2015

Gretchen Morgenson Fair Game column investigates how unreported deferred tax liabilities on foreign corporate profits can be significantly misleading to investors; observes that American companies have avoided paying taxes on some $2.1 trillion in foreign earnings by declaring their intention to re-invest them abroad, though claims are dubious; argues that it has become extremely difficult to calculate just how much of a companies' earnings consists of such foreign profits. MORE

May. 20, 2015

IRS signals that it is weighing potential changes in how it treats some classes of tax-free spinoffs, particularly those in which operating business comprises only small portion of new company; change could have serious consequences for Yahoo's plan to spin off its $34 billion stake in Alibaba tax-free. MORE

Apr. 11, 2015

General Electric is expected to pay $6 billion in taxes when it repatriates $36 billion of foreign earnings from sale of investment arm GE Capital; GE is largest and most prominent company to repatriate earnings on this scale, yet experts say it is unlikely other companies will follow suit before some kind of tax reform is accomplished, as move is part of company's broader restructuring. MORE

Apr. 3, 2015

Big American tech firms in Europe, including Google, Apple and Facebook, are facing increasing scrutiny over antitrust questions and tax arrangements; growing pressure from regulators could possibly hurt their profits in region and influence how they operate around world; analysts say Europe is using investigations to aid their own tech companies. MORE

Mar. 19, 2015

European Union officials propose rules to discourage tax-avoidance deals with multinational corporations; some of bloc's smaller countries have used deals to attract corporations with special tax breaks. MORE

Feb. 5, 2015

China's State Administration of Taxation announces review that will largely target practices used by foreign-owned companies to move money and allocate costs among Chinese operations and overseas business; review is latest in series of moves against mostly Western companies in effort to increase tax collection. MORE

Feb. 5, 2015

The Upshot; shift in focus in national debate over corporate tax policy is due in large part to fact that most egregious form of tax avoidance comes from companies declaring large portions of their income are made in countries offering tax shelters; Pres Obama's proposal for reforming tax code calls for territorial taxation, which would address this form of avoidance, is one of few he has made that has Republican support. MORE

Feb. 4, 2015

American companies regularly take advantage of tax loophole that allows them to deduct any court-ordered punitive damages as ordinary business expense; critics say loophole is effectively forcing taxpayers to pay for corporate wrongdoing; Sen Patrick Leahy of Vermont has introduced legislation to ban practice. MORE

Feb. 3, 2015

Pres Obama's proposed budget contains six-year, $478 billion infrastructure plan, giving 33 percent increase in funding for large, new public works projects; upgrading nation's roads, bridges and ports would be financed by new taxes on American companies' international profits. MORE

Feb. 2, 2015

President Obama’s budget calls for a lower overall tax rate, but also for a one-time 14 percent tax on all cash sitting overseas. MORE

Jan. 17, 2015

European Commission finds that tax deal between Amazon and Luxembourg may have broken European Union competition rules, allowing company to underpay its taxes for a decade or more; statement comes amid wider investigation into tax and competition violations by a number of multinationals; finding could result in tax clawback in the tens of millions of dollars. MORE

Jan. 13, 2015

Mayor Bill de Blasio proposes changes to New York City's corporate tax code to bring city into alignment with state policies that took effect on Jan 1 and would also reduce tax rates on small businesses, with intention of attracting companies to move operations to city; key additional feature of de Blasio proposal would treat all parts of a company as a single entity, making it harder for owners to shift income to locations with lower tax rates. MORE

Jan. 8, 2015

Chinese government is set to require citizens and companies to pay taxes on income earned worldwide, regulation previously ignored; move puts nation on same footing as United States in its attempts on taxing expatriates; effort could not only increase government revenues but also play important part in Pres Xi Jinping's efforts to quash corruption. MORE

Dec. 30, 2014

Political Memo; bipartisan economists have seemingly become frustrated with persistent, generation-long stagnation of middle-class incomes; both Democrats and Republicans are considering big policy shifts that could address trend, with Democrats pushing for heavy investment in infrastructure spending and Republicans calling for overhauling energy policy and corporate tax code. MORE

Dec. 4, 2014

Pres Obama meets with members of Business Roundtable, which includes chief executives of some of largest American corporations, in attempt to rally support for Asian trade deal and corporate tax reform. MORE

Dec. 4, 2014

Editorial supports Pres Obama's well-timed veto threat that scuttled a flawed tax deal; holds move is good indication that Obama and some Democrats will be successful in blocking the worst proposals to come up in this lame-duck and future sessions of Congress; says some proposed tax breaks for 2015 and beyond are worthwhile but others are special-interest giveaways and hugely wasteful handouts; urges Congressional Republicans to create acceptable package by dropping wasteful corporate tax cuts and including provisions to help low- and middle-income workers. MORE

Dec. 3, 2014

George Osborne, the British chancellor of the Exchequer, proposed a new 25 percent tax on the local profits of some international companies, including tech giants like Google. MORE

Dec. 3, 2014

Op-Ed article by Prof David A Super points out that congressional Republicans and some Democrats are trying to make permanent dishonest method for businesses to claim tax deductions; notes that tax break, called bonus depreciation, allows a business to pretend that its building and equipment wear out faster than they actually do; calls for end to practice, arguing that it will cost staggering amount and has no economic benefit. MORE

Nov. 26, 2014

Pres Obama threatens to veto emerging agreement on permanent tax breaks for corporations that would give them $440 billion over decade; proposed deal, negotiated between House Republicans and aides to Democratic Sen Harry Reid, outgoing majority leader, is being criticized for neglecting working poor and underscores power shift since Republicans rolled to victory in midterm elections. MORE

Nov. 15, 2014

European Union authorities accuse Netherlands of making special deal with Starbucks that helped company lower its taxes; accusation is contained in report by EU's competition authority and is latest sign of mounting concern over scale of tax breaks for multinational companies in period of weak growth and high unemployment in many parts of Europe. MORE

Nov. 15, 2014

European Union authorities publicly accuse Netherlands of making special deal with Starbucks that helped company lower its taxes, seeing it as potentially illegal state aid; it is latest case to focus on favorable and often secretive tax arrangements between big multinationals and low-tax countries; companies have been increasingly lobbying against proposed reforms as global authorities ramp up efforts to close tax loopholes. MORE

Nov. 13, 2014

Jean-Claude Juncker, now president of European Commission, takes responsibility for the way Luxembourg was run during his leadership from 1989 to 2013; says there was nothing to suggest he had ambitions to organize tax evasion in Europe. MORE

Nov. 9, 2014

Though Ireland has been under international pressure to close loopholes that have drawn companies like Google and Microsoft, the country is still touting its low-tax appeal. MORE

Nov. 6, 2014

Experts on Wall Street and political veterans say actual legislative agenda of new Republican majorities in both houses of Congress will be limited, despite plenty of public talk of more aggressive action on issues like corporate taxation and financial regulation. MORE

Nov. 6, 2014

The Upshot; analysts are trying to predict what issues 114th Congress will tackle given that Republicans control both houses of Congress; issues that are most likely to be addressed are keeping government funded, passage of Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement and reform of corporate tax code. MORE

Oct. 16, 2014

AbbVie said its board made the decision after considering the effect of the Treasury Department’s “unilateral changes to the tax rules.” MORE

Oct. 15, 2014

Ireland responds to criticism of its business-friendly tax arrangements by closing loophole used by multinational giants like Google; European Union and Obama administration have been increasingly vocal about tax-avoidance strategies of multinational firms and countries that enable them. MORE

Oct. 4, 2014

Joe Nocera Op-Ed column points to similarities between Nevada's efforts to lure Tesla motors and Ireland's effort to draw Apple with low corporate tax rates; notes European Union investigation found that Ireland's deal with Apple essentially amounts to 'state aid' and is therefore illegal; holds main difference between American states' and European countries' efforts to bring in corporate business is that European Union has rules intended to prevent abuses. MORE

Oct. 2, 2014

Eduardo Porter Economic Scene column questions whether corporate tax strategies intended to minimize global taxes have made it impossible for governments to tax corporations beyond the bare minimum; warns if corporations can continue to evade taxation, burden of public finance will land almost entirely on shoulders of ordinary workers. MORE

Oct. 1, 2014

Editorial contends that finding by European Commission that Ireland provided extravagant tax benefits to Apple is latest evidence of resourcefulness of multinational companies when it comes to minimizing taxes; calls on lawmakers around the world to agree not to compete by offering relative tax advantages that hurt everyone, and for tightening of rules that let multinational companies avoid paying taxes they owe. MORE

Oct. 1, 2014

European Commission publicly accuses Ireland of giving illegal subsidies to Apple and cautions that country might need to collect back taxes from company, which analysts say could reach billions of dollars; case is warning shot to companies shopping for tax deals around the globe. MORE

Sep. 30, 2014

Biotechnology companies are saving on taxes by transferring patents on their lucrative and expensive drugs to foreign subsidiaries; tactic is not as advantageous as an inversion, but provides substantial tax benefit. MORE

Sep. 30, 2014

Europe’s antitrust regulator will issue report describing its investigation into whether low-tax countries like Ireland have made special deals with multinationals like Apple that helped companies avoid billions in taxes and created unfair advantages over other European Union member countries. MORE

Sep. 26, 2014

Floyd Norris High & Low Finance column examines corporate inversions, increasingly popular strategy allowing American corporations to avoid taxation, and gain access to untaxed foreign earnings, by reincorporating abroad; commends new regulations introduced by the Obama administration, but argues that situation has become so absurd that only strong new legislation can restore equitable taxation. MORE

Sep. 24, 2014

Editorial welcomes new rules from Treasury Dept that are likely to slow practice known as corporate inversion, which allows American companies to avoid taxes by merging with foreign rivals; contends only Congress can pass a law to stop tax-motivated corporate inversions completely. MORE

Sep. 23, 2014

The changes by the Treasury Department will not stop the deals but may make some more difficult to execute, corporate advisers said. MORE

Sep. 23, 2014

Treasury Secretary Jacob J Lew announces rules that are aimed at making it more difficult for American companies to lower their tax bills by relocating overseas and that would wipe out the benefits for those that do; changes are part of Obama administration's latest move to sidestep paralyzed Congress and tackle politically charged element of his agenda. MORE

Sep. 14, 2014

Jeff Sommer Strategies column examines public furor over tax inversions, arguing that it is surprising given how accustomed Americans have grown to other profit-maximizing strategies by domestic companies; argues that debate has neglected fact that inversions are extremely popular among investors, as well as the risks posed by a broad decline in corporate tax revenue. MORE

Sep. 9, 2014

Joe Nocera Op-Ed column rejects argument that companies are fleeing the United States to pursue so-called 'corporate-inversions' because of high corporate tax rates; says in reality, most US corporations end up paying far lower than the 35 percent rate, and that inversions are attractive because they allow companies to avoid paying repatriation taxes, among other loopholes; holds these loopholes can be closed without the need for a broad overhaul of corporate taxes. MORE

Sep. 9, 2014

Treasury Secretary Jacob J Lew says he will decide what regulatory action the Obama administration can take to stop companies from moving abroad to avoid American taxes. MORE

Aug. 28, 2014

Corporations are finding ways to legally avoid paying federal taxes, causing business income tax revenue to be stagnant. MORE

Aug. 28, 2014

Hard-fought ballot referendum that would have overturned Alaska's system of taxing oil industry profits fails by narrow margin after absentee ballots are counted; Ballot Measure 1 drew millions of dollars in contributions from oil companies and raised political passions across state. MORE

Aug. 24, 2014

N Gregory Mankiw Economic View column argues that new wave of tax inversions, in which companies save huge amounts by reincorporating abroad, is a strong reminder that time has come to rethink the corporate tax system as a whole; argues that executives cannot be blamed for trend, which is legal and based on the pursuit of profit; proposes repeal of the corporate income tax and the institution of a broad-based tax on consumption. MORE

Aug. 10, 2014

Gretchen Morgenson Fair Game column holds that Internal Revenue Service's ruling that allows Windstream Holdings to spin off its copper and fiber network into real estate investment trust opens window into corporate tax loophole; notes that tax experts say ruling will exponentially broaden pool of companies able to tap into preferential tax treatment that was previously limited to real-estate-oriented trusts. MORE

Aug. 7, 2014

Debate over companies moving abroad to reduce their taxes, known as inversion, underscores how difficult it is politically to change corporate taxation; while everyone seems to agree that system of corporate taxation is broken, altering it is problematic as industries and companies all want to preserve loopholes in current law that are to their benefit. MORE

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The U.S. Congress is setting the stage for months of debate on a tax break for overseas corporate profits, a perennial proposal made over by being linked to another issue, funding for highway construction.

June 28, 2015, Sunday

The Polish opposition party Law and Justice (PiS) wants to cut the Corporate Income Tax (CIT) for small companies as part of its wider plan to boost the economy, PiS candidate for prime minister Beata Szydlo told Rzeczpospolita daily on Thursday.